The Astral Order
Stasis, peace, and purity - these are the words often used to sum up The Astral Order. In the year 856, only 6 years after the Aegonian revolution lead by Amon and Aapep, The Astral Order takes root as a direct reaction to the commotion and chaos caused by the revolution. Even the nomads wandering the desert were stirred by this sudden change and all the disarray that followed. Years of discord followed the revolution, years where the people fought to figure out how to keep a country under control, while all they were doing was creating less control over anything. It was a time where the peaceful nomad shamans could not find peace in the mortal world, and as such, they looked to the heavens. In the heavens, nothing changes. The stars remain where they have always been and the days and nights continue to dance as they have done since the birth of time itself. The founders of The Astral Order found peace and comfort in this celestial stillness, and began to teach others the way of disconnecting from the troubles and wars and politics of the mortal realm, and become one with the sun, moon, and stars. This philosophy of inner (yet divine and otherworldly) peace gathered great interest from like-minded individuals who all sought to escape the darkness of the mortal world. It is widely regarded that the founder of this idea, this concept, was a mother named Ahmose. Ahmose was a widely respected woman who was known for being able to 'speak with the sands', so to speak - read the way the dunes moved, and even speak on equal terms with the elusive and treacherous Khezmiir. As Ahmose began to teach her children and tribesmen the peace there could be found in studying the immovable heavens, thoughts bloomed and ideas flourished. It is said that an entire month went by where other nomad tribes came to Ahmose's tent to discuss and debate what could be learned from the celestial bodies, and though much disagreement could be found, there was one thing that became certain: the gods and spirits were mere products of the sun, the moon, and the stars. On that day, Ahmose discarded her old faith and turned to worship the skies themselves. On that day, The Astral Order was created. Ahmose's philosophy eventually reached beyond the borders of the Alorian desert. She was later contacted by a moonpriest of Lumion and a monk of the Yantsu Island, who both wished to have a meeting with Ahmose. Ahmose accepted, and a meeting was soon conducted somewhere in the woods of Lumion, where the moonpriest and the monk learned all that Ahmose could teach. Her ways were peaceful, her philosophy preaching nothing but the search for inner peace, and as such, the moonpriest and the monk soon became her faithful disciples. The Astral Order grew, as the two began to preach Ahmose's ways to their own people. The moonpriest in serene acceptance of the heavens, and the monk in peace, purity, and awareness of the mind. But Ahmose was an old woman and soon drew her last breath. The moonpriest and the monk lived on, but taking Ahmose's place was her son, Djehuty. Djehuty became the prime example of when faith turns to fanaticism; while Ahmose's ways were peaceful, Djehuty saw all impure mortal activity as sacrilege and an affront to the skies themselves. It was under Djehuty that The Astral Order began an inquisition: with alchemy much similar to that of the Hand of Divinity, Djehuty's followers sought down all mages who were attuned to more than one element and forced them into using one, and only one. Djehuty's obsession with purity began here, by purifying the essences of any mage they could come across, whether wizard or shaman, spirit dancer or rune mage. To this day, this cruel side of The Astral Order still exists. But more of the order has come than this. In the year 1000, at the time of The Shredding, The Astral Order recognized the chaos and destruction that the demons would bring, and thus took up arms as well. The Yantsu monks in the Order taught its followers the art of spirit dancing, which soon became the prime weapon of the order, even though its followers were only allowed to use one attunement of magic. From the sun-blasted sands of Targus, through the moonlit woods of Lumion, and to the lonesome island of Yantsu, The Astral Order's warrior monks became a great threat to the demons indeed - and a valuable asset to all living things, whether pure or impure.